A ‘PHENOMENAL’ HELP

St. Ambrose Parish assists over 1,000 children in need through CarePortal

Renee Hallock (far l.), point person for the St. Ambrose CarePortal, Father Brian Kelly, pastor, and dozens of St. Ambrose CarePortal responders are presented with an award from Trisha Gerstel (c. with sign), regional manager for Justice for Orphans, marking the parish’s milestone of helping 1,000 children in need. (Emily Benson photo)

St. Ambrose Parish cares a lot about children in need — and they’ve got the portal to prove it!

In 2024, the Latham parish began operating a CarePortal, an online networking platform that connects requests from families in need with local volunteers. Local departments of social services can submit requests to the portal on behalf of families in crisis for various needs — items like bedding, baby items or household furniture — or financial assistance, such as payment help with a National Grid bill or YMCA memberships for children in need.

Organizations and its members overseeing a portal — like those involved at St. Ambrose — can view and fulfill any request that comes in, investing their own time and money to help those in need. 

Renee Hallock, parishioner and point person for the St. Ambrose CarePortal, said that “this is the work God has called us to do.”

“Families are just really struggling,” said Hallock, who initiated the portal at St. Ambrose. “Some of them are working, but just one little thing that goes wrong can upset the whole fiscal dynamics of the family.”

Since launching the portal, the parish has helped over 1,000 children and had a whopping economic impact of over $425,000 put toward portal requests. 

The church has been so successful in facilitating the CarePortal that St. Ambrose was recognized with an award for the number of children they have helped through this new ministry. 

Hallock said it was “pretty phenomenal” to hear how many children and families the church’s portal helped serve. 

In 2018, Justice For Orphans, a not-for-profit based out of Ravena, became the official implementing partner for the CarePortal software in upstate New York. JOC manages the CarePortal for 10 counties across upstate New York, including the portal with St. Ambrose, with a dedicated regional manager for each area.

Trisha Gerstel, the eastern regional manager for Justice for Orphans, said the organization serves as a middleman between the state agencies and the churches involved in the portal, helping to mediate any questions or fix any technological issues with the portal.

“We train (churches) on not just how to use the technology but also on the interactions with the families because a lot of them are special service cases, like trauma, domestic violence, poverty,” Gerstel said.

Gerstel presented St. Ambrose’s award on July 22 to Father Brian Kelly, pastor of St. Ambrose, Hallock, and dozens of St. Ambrose volunteers who help respond to the parish’s portal.

“The generosity of our parishioners, sometimes it just really shakes me to my core how generous and thoughtful people are,” Hallock said. 

“I love doing this,” said Mary Ellen Sage, an active responder to the St. Ambrose CarePortal. “I start looking at what I can buy, what I can donate. I’m constantly shopping. This is my own (money). I’ve gotten lots of bedding, lots of pillows; that’s probably the main thing I buy.”

Before her retirement, Hallock served as the Associate Commissioner for the NYS Office of Children and Family Services. She heard about the CarePortal while working at OCFS, and knew that when she left work, this was what she wanted to dedicate her time to.

As the point person, Hallock will reach out to the caseworker submitting a portal request and get information about the family and how to contact them. Then either Hallock or another parish responder will arrange to deliver the requested items. 

Hallock recalled dropping off household items to a mother of two daughters, who was moving into an apartment after living in a motel for nine months. 

“I brought her some dishes and some glasses, and I said, ‘Do you think these would work for you?’ And she said, ‘Oh, they’re so nice.’ I looked at her, and I said, ‘You know, you deserve nice things.’ And she just started crying.”

“I truly, truly believe every Catholic church should be a CarePortal church,” Hallock added. “The need is so, so great, and it’s not that difficult. You don’t have to do every single request. We do a lot of requests because the need is there, (but) what would be nice is if there were other Catholic churches … willing to help meet the needs of these families; that would be phenomenal.”

For more information on the CarePortal network, or how to launch a portal at your church, contact Trisha Gerstel at [email protected]. St. Ambrose’s CarePortal can be viewed at https://system.careportal.org/church/101578.